The new Alien film will reportedly reboot the space horror franchise, with Cailee Spaeny in the lead role.
Since purchasing 20th Century Fox, Disney has taken its time to consider where to go next with the cinematic direction of Alien franchise. Plenty of options were on the table for the series, including a return to the mainline Ellen Ripley-focused narrative, a continuation of Ridley Scott’s prequel films or the reboot option. That in itself presents many choices, including just how big or small the film should be.
Answers finally arrived back in March it announced that Don’t Breathe director, Fede Alvarez would be helming the new project, a reboot that would be heading straight to streaming.
Now we have the first major casting announcement for the project, with the news that Cailee Spaeny is in talks to star in the film, taking on the role of a female lead, presumably to echo the spirit of the original movies. Spaeny is currently shooting the biopic Priscilla for Sofia Coppola which will focus on the marriage between Priscilla Presley and her husband Elvis. She has also appeared in HBO’s Mare Of Easttown.
The parts that are coming together so far seem to be meshing well. Ridley Scott, director of the 1979 original, is producing along; there’s Alvarez and his horror credentials, along with the casting of Spaeny. It suggests that this project will be taking cues from the original’s ‘slasher in space’ approach. The only real downside here is that we likely won’t get a theatrical release (a la the recent Predator spin-off Prey) but if it means Alvarez gets to make the film he wants to make without too much studio interference, then it will probably work out for the best. We’ll let you know more on this one as we hear it.
The Hollywood Reporter
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